Support and Remember Your Law Enforcement Officers This Holiday Season

Concerns of Police Survivors is once again encouraging law enforcement families and friends of law enforcement to decorate in blue lights for the coming holiday season. By placing one blue light in a window of your home, you'll be showing your support for officers killed in the line of duty and those who continue to work America's streets.

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There are more than 900,000 sworn law enforcement officers now serving in the United States, which is the highest figure ever. About 12 percent of those are female.

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Crime fighting has taken its toll. Since the first recorded police death in 1791, there have been over 19,000 law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty. Currently, there are 19,660 names engraved on the walls of the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial.

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A total of 1,799 law enforcement officers died in the line of duty during the past 10 years, an average of one death every 53 hours or 164 per year. There were 163 law enforcement officers killed in 2011, 120 in 2012 and 95 so far in 2013 .

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On average, over the last decade, there have been 58,648 assaults against law enforcement each year, resulting in 15,778 injuries.

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The 1920s were the deadliest decade in law enforcement history, when a total of 2,318 officers died, or an average of almost 232 each year. The deadliest year in law enforcement history was 1930, when 290 officers were killed. That figure dropped dramatically in the 1990s, to an average of 161 per year.

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The deadliest day in law enforcement history was September 11, 2001, when 72 officers were killed while responding to the terrorist attacks on America.

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New York City has lost more officers in the line of duty than any other department, with 695 deaths. Texas has lost 1,631 officers, more than any other state. The state with the fewest deaths is Vermont, with 22.

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There are 1,032 federal officers listed on the Memorial, as well as 585 correctional officers and 31 military law enforcement officers.

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Let us hope 2014 is a safe and peaceful one for those who risk their lives every day to keep us safe.

There are 257 female officers listed on the Memorial; eleven female officers were killed in 2011 and eleven female officers have been killed to date in 2012.

The color blue is symbolic of peace. By displaying your blue lights, you will be sending a dual message - that you support America's peacekeepers and that you hope the coming year will be a year of peace.